Paul Hymans

Paul Louis Adrien Louis Hymans (born March 23, 1865 in Ixelles / Elsene , † March 6, 1941 in Nice ) was a Belgian liberal politician and multiple minister.

Hymans was born into a well-to-do middle-class family. He earned a doctorate in law and practiced in a Brussels law firm. Later he also gave lessons at the VU Brussels and worked as a journalist . He joined the Liberal Party and became the leader of its left wing. From 1900 to 1941 he represented the constituency of his place of residence in Brussels in the Belgian parliament.

After the outbreak of World War I , he took part in a diplomatic mission to the United States in 1914 . 1915 was appointed special envoy to the British government in London . In 1917 he took over the post of Minister of Economics and in early 1918 that of Foreign Minister in the Belgian government. He led the Belgian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and became the first chairman of the League of Nations in 1920 (until 1921). In the twenties he was involved in the negotiations with Germany as a member of the League of Nations and multiple Foreign Minister (1924-25, 1927-35) (including the Dawes Plan 1924, the Locarno Treaties 1925, the Briand-Kellogg Pact 1928). Plans for an economic union between Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg go back to Hymans, which are considered the forerunners of the customs union of 1944 (see Benelux ).

Hymans died in exile in Nice in 1941 and was later buried in the cemetery in his hometown.

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personal data
SURNAME	Hymans, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hymans, Paul Louis Adrien Louis (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Belgian politician and foreign minister
DATE OF BIRTH	March 23, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ixelles / Elsene
DATE OF DEATH	March 6, 1941
Place of death	Nice